Monday, February 11, 2013

can new MoCo planning HQ catalyze wheaton?

The Fortress of Planning today. Photo by tracktwentynine on Flickr.

Downtown Silver Spring is anchored by the Civic Building. Rockville Town Center has its library. Wheaton, meanwhile, will have the Montgomery County Planning Department. If the revitalization of Wheaton is going to succeed, it'll need much more than a government office building.

A new headquarters would be a big improvement for the Planning Department and Department of Parks, whose current home in downtown Silver Spring is an aging, cobbled-together building I jokingly call the "Fortress of Planning." But the county's decision to locate it at the core of downtown Wheaton gives these agencies some pretty big shoes to fill.

Done well, the headquarters could be a catalyst, drawing people and investment to the area while serving as an example of everything Montgomery County stands for. Done poorly, it'll be a black hole, sucking the life out of Wheaton and hampering its redevelopment. How can we get this right? Here are a few suggestions:

The current concept is to build a 150,000-square-foot building that would contain the two departments' headquarters, a credit union, a day care center and an underground parking garage, while later a second building could be built behind it with apartments and ground-floor shops.

That seems a little backwards. After all, the headquarters would directly face the new town square, which would be a more desirable location for retail than further up the block as proposed. Restaurants and cafes with outdoor seating could help add life to the square, while putting offices there that close at 5pm would just create a dead spot.

Montgomery County should follow the lead of Arlington, whose Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development and other government agencies are located in Courthouse Plaza, a complex with ground-floor shops, restaurants, a movie theatre and a farmers' market surrounding a pedestrian mall. While the space isn't as robust or lively as Clarendon next door, it's active throughout the day and the week and serves as an anchor for the larger neighborhood.

2) Engage the public.

The House of Sweden. Photo by afagen on Flickr.

Planning isn't the sexiest government agency. Little kids don't idolize zoning clerks the way they do fire fighters and police officers, and with one exception you won't find many television shows about planners. Nonetheless, planners play an important role in shaping our communities, and the new headquarters is an opportunity to tell that story.

The Planning Department already holds public events like last fall's open house or their annual speaker series. These events, usually held on weekends or during the evening, could help activate the building outside of the Planning Board's twice-weekly meetings. It would be cool if the building was designed to make those activities visible from the street, the same way that the House of Sweden's lobby opens to the Georgetown Waterfront. They could include a small gallery to showcase the latest projects, allowing residents to find out what's happening in their community while, say, going out for dinner.

3) Design for a statement.

Waterfront Station, housing the DC Office of Planning and other agencies. Photo by the author.

Most modern public buildings are unremarkable and undistinguished. For every gorgeous, inspiring edifice like the Civic Building there's a Transit Center that was designed for utility and little else. That's not acceptable for an agency committed to improving the the county's built and natural environment.

In 2011, the District of Columbia moved their Office of Planning and other agencies into Waterfront Station, a mixed-use project on the site of the former Waterside Mall in Southwest. Designed by renowned local architects Shalom Baranes Associates, Waterfront Station earned LEED Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council due to the use of energy-conserving features like a green roof and shading devices to reduce heat gain from sunlight.

Like in Arlington, there are shops and restaurants on the ground floor, including a Safeway. The Office of Planning itself doesn't necessarily engage the public, as it's located on the sixth floor and you have to go through security to reach it. However, placing this agency and others in this complex still makes a meaningful statement about the District's commitment to urban revitalization and environmentally sensitive development.

I've been skeptical in the past about the merits of relocating the Planning Department and Department of Parks to Wheaton, but now that it's basically a done deal, let's make this the best project we can. For decades, Montgomery County has been a leader in innovative planning, and now it's time for them to put their money where their mouth is.

I've been called a lot of things, but never a "slick salesperson." As an underemployed 24-year-old with a blog I write in my spare time, I appreciate that, and I hope it bodes well for my future career prospects.

"Slick salespeople" come in all guises, not just the obvious ones that first pop into YOUR mind.

"Slick" means deceptive, eh? As in, "here's what I'm telling you we're trying to do, but secretly this is all about my own personal agenda of power and privilege being pursued." Look at yourself in the mirror here.

"Salesman" is just the action following up on the slickness. Again, look in the mirror here.

"Planning" is how Slick Salesmen do their thing, through local state and federal govt vectors. "Public participation" is how they make it seem democratic, but again, ignore the public comment (because the govt employees surely do) and look at who pushes the Planners around.

Hence,

Linowes & Blocher link.

I was a "planner" for the DC metro area for 4 years in the early 90s and I know precisely what the fuck I'm talking about here, and it's why I do NOT live there any more, because Progressive Broheem, the myth isn't in accordance with reality.